


The Walking Despair

by PopitLockitWriteit, strawbunnyshortcake



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Dead People, Gen, Gore, Gun Violence, Head Injury, Injury, Injury Recovery, Inspired by The Walking Dead, Major Character Injury, Mild Gore, Nosebleed, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Omniscient, Permanent Injury, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Pre-Apocalypse, Pre-Zombie Apocalypse, Threats of Violence, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26547658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PopitLockitWriteit/pseuds/PopitLockitWriteit, https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawbunnyshortcake/pseuds/strawbunnyshortcake
Summary: A 'The Walking Dead' inspired Danganronpa AU, following Ryouko Otonashi and Shuichi Saihara through the zombie apocalypse.Brought to you by PopitLockitWriteit and strawbunnyshortcake.
Relationships: Otonashi Ryouko/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 6





	1. The City

it's been a month since the outbreak began. since everything all went to shit outside. since she...

what's she thinking about again? she flips the pages of her notebook, pen making little ink dots on every page as she touches them before flipping. 'my name is ryouko otonashi. i used to go to hope's peak academy, a school for the academically gifted.' right! this is her notebook.

...what does academically mean? an arrow points to a message below the word, saying 'it related to school! it means they're super good at school stuff.' oh. alright.

'it's been a month since the outbreak began; i've tallied it below so i can count the days!' she counted each of the lines she drew. sure enough, they added up to 31. a whole month... she kept reading, stopping in her tracks to focus.

'matsuda~kun told you to go to the east-coast to find a shelter. there are survivors there that are going to help you when he couldn't.'

there were blood splatters on her notebook, covering the rest of the text on this page, and the two following it. that's strange... and what does that last sentence mean? she wasn't sure; she couldn't remember.

she rolled her shoulders, feeling pops in her back that made her flinch. why was she in pain too? she definitely didn't remember that, or remember writing it down. oh well, it doesn't matter. she needs to start walking again. it's dangerous to be out in the open like this. she had a slight skip in her step as she went forward, allowing her eyes the privilege to wander.

this really did look like every typical apocalypse story ever. broken down cars, a gray overlay surrounding everything, oil in the street, blood in cars and windows and shops... nothing but blood and flesh and bodies everywhere. bodies that wouldn't be bodies forever. 

she needs a way to get there... ah! she noticed one of the cars in the road. maybe it still worked? it had crashed into the window of a shop. there was blood in the windows and windshield. someone must've died in there... she flinched at the smell of blood and rot coming from the car. it truly made her sick.

she became aware of sounds in the distance; growling. a scream rang out, being suddenly cut off with the sound of clattering teeth, which also stopped but a second later. she shivered, clutching her notebook tighter, almost ripping the pages. she grabbed a hold of the handle on the car, and pulled it open.

...there was nothing inside. but there was a small backpack. it looked familiar to her. her head tilted as she reached inside, grabbing the straps of the backpack and pulling it out. she opened it up and looked inside. a knife. and a bunch of pens, all bright pink and white, with her name scribbled into them.

oh! this was her backpack! why was it in here? she flipped through her notebook.

'i stayed in a car for the night. i'm supposed to leave in the morning. p.s. don't forget my backpack!'

well, she forgot her backpack. but she has it now. she's believing that she went in a circle. she's sure she's been walking for a while, judging by the pain in her heels. well, at least she has her backpack again. she zipped it shut again, pulling the straps over her shoulders, letting it rest on her back. she feels better having the backpack. she could use it for protection too.

she tried to ignore the sounds in the distance, choosing to go in a direction opposite them. that would be the smart decision here. 

the sounds cut off entirely. she feels a bead of sweat roll down her face as her footsteps get faster. she pulls the pages of her notebook to a new blank one, and taps her pen on the corner, making a small cluster of ink dots every time the two touch. she jumped as a piece of newspaper flew past her. without thinking, she went after it, eventually snatching it out of the air.

she grips onto it, reading over the front page.

'BREAKING: 60% of HPA shelters overrun!'

hpa? oh right, hope's peak academy. huh? she keeps reading.

'Just last week, reports from the remaining survivors at HPA came in through the radio stations before a total shutdown this week. The headmaster says a new group is beginning to form to deal with the coming outbreak. The Future Foundation has come to fruition at a new location undisclosed to the public. Reports have come in from several workers of cure progress being made. Since the information has been leaked, the workers have not since come to the station, and residents are assuming the worst of them.'

just reading that made ryouko feel nauseous. 

she jumped again hearing a thud nearby. she feels her face turning blue as she turns around, looking where the thud had come from. a gurgling sound came from what she saw there.

" s-sir! " as if she had forgotten the world she was in, she ran to the person collapsed on the sidewalk with most of their neck torn open. it seemed like they were a police officer judging by their outfit. their vest barely had any dents in it, but the blue clothes they had on was stained with red and purple. it was hard to tell there was even dried blood on the black pants they had on. ryouko knelt down, grabbing them by the shoulders, shaking them a bit. " s-sir, get up! a-are you okay?! p-please, talk to me! "

there was white noise. the gurgling stopped. ryouko began to fear the worse. her eyes saddened. she put her hand to the ground, ready to push herself up. she froze as she heard noises from the person again. their hand began to twitch, and their eyes opened again. dead white. her eyes went wide. they rolled over, teeth clacking as they tried to bite at her wrist, hand flinging over and scratching her jacket, tearing open the shoulder, but not reaching the shirt underneath.

she almost screamed, but it came out as just a yelp as she scrambled backwards. the person got to their feet, blood dribbling from their neck and mouth. ryouko wanted to vomit. but she had no time to focus on what she wanted to do. right now she needed to get out of here before more showed up!

she scrambled back to her feet and it began to chase after her as she ran. she was sure that with how slow it was, she was going to lose it. as she ran, she scribbled the events in her notebook.

'in the city you found a dying man. he turned and tried to attack you.'

as she was writing, she screamed as she tripped, feeling nails digging into her sock and skin. she whimpered as her head and shoulder hit the pavement. she tried to kick the hand away that was grabbing onto her with all its might. nearby, she found a bloody brick. she grabbed it, and threw it down, smashing open the head of the creature that had grabbed her, seeing its flesh and brain scatter on the street, with pieces of bone floating down the red stream into the road. she groaned in pain as she ripped its nails free from her skin, seeing the dead cop still stumbling after her. she forced herself to her feet, despite the infinitely stinging pain in her ankle, and she tore down the street.

she couldn't focus on writing, she just kept running. she felt tears rolling down her face. eventually she would have to stop because of the pain. now she couldn't remember; did she get bit? why did her ankle hurt so much? she'd focus on that later. she noticed the creatures inside of cars, their stomachs tearing open as they tried to wiggle out of the cars with the broken class. she felt her throat burning seeing the blood rip free from them with every movement.

and she heard the growls growing. more violent, much louder. she heard more of them. more, and more. the ones that saw her would find her if they could. they'd try their hardest.

she felt her socks warming up as blood soaked into them and stuck to her skin. her ankle was in so much pain. she could feel her skin turning pale. she definitely looked sickly. a running creature before death, isn't she?

her knuckles began to turn white from how hard she was gripping her pen and notebook. ink was beginning to dribble from the pen around her hand, turning her hand pink. well, at least she has her backpack, she's got new pens in there... she just has to wash her hands at some point.

she didn't realize it until her head smacked into the wall that she had run into a dead end. she stumbled, collapsing beside the wall, feeling the bruise on her head forming and pain crashing through her skull. her pen fell to the ground, dribbling an ink puddle beside her, and her notebook rested over her chest.

she began to feel her vision fading, eyes blurring, noise becoming fuzzy, even with how much closer those monster had gotten. her eyes began to close, her nose felt clogged as she felt blood begin to seep from it, slowly creating a line down her face. her hands fell open and limp on the ground beside her. 

her eyes began to close...


	2. Fake Heroine

through the haze, ryouko turns her head, eyes opening again, raising her hand toward the horde as it steps forward.

" p-please... " her voice is so weak with pain as blood puddles on the ground around her. " i... don't wanna... die... "

her eyelids fall shut again, and her hand collapses on the ground. just as it does, her eyes snap open again as a noise pops the bubbles in her ears. she looks up as the horde pauses, suddenly very few of them remaining, and bits of flesh and bone being splattered on the alley walls. some of the creatures had fallen over. one was blown right next to her, making her survival instincts kick back on. she began to scramble away, until its head suddenly popped like a zit, getting more blood on her socks and shoes.

there were only two left. as they began to stumble towards her again, two hands came up, grabbing the sides of the creatures' heads and smashing them together. they collapsed, their image replaced with that of a man, who looked half dead himself other than the single gold eye looking at her, unbandaged. 

he looked different from all the people she'd run into up until now. his pale navy hair seemed familiar to her, as if she'd seen it in a memory or dream. she didn't say anything, and he had nothing to say. her vision was blurring again. he glanced down, spotting the nail wounds on her ankle. he walked over, kneeling down beside her, and pulling her sock down to get a better look at them.

" you're not bit. " he finally spoke up, his voice deep, and just vaguely british. it brought a light blush to her face. she really liked his voice! he looked up at her, his expression not moving even the slightest, only shifting when he needed to blink or swallow. he moved up closer to her face, wiping away the blood dribbling from her nose. more followed after it. 

" you're still bleeding. " he sighed, shaking his head. he pulled a rag out of the pocket inside his coat, and took her hand, putting the rag in it. " put this under your nose and tilt your head back. "

she took the order quickly, managing to force her hand to move. she gripped the rag tight, and rolled her head so she could look at the sky. she tilted it back just a little further as she put the rag up under her nose. while she did that, the man fiddled with something else in his coat as he scooted back over to her ankle. she flinched, feeling his hand brush against her wound. she tilted her head down to see what he was doing, just for her eyes to be met with his one eye.

" i said head back. you'll keep bleeding if you do that. " his voice was firm, slightly louder than before. she quickly put her head back to the ground and tilted it back, her grip on the rag tightening just a little.

she wasn't sure exactly what he was doing, but her ankle was stinging. she was really trying her hardest not to move. since she wasn't able to write this scenario down, she was sure she was going to forget it in a few moments... she could feel the blood in her nose starting to stop running, and she felt bandages being wrapped around her ankle. they were warm; she was definitely still bleeding.

the man wrapped the bandage on tight before he sat up. " the hell happened to you? "

" um... " ryouko's free hand scrambled for her notebook. she managed to sit up against the alley wall. she set her notebook in her lap, picking up her pen and flipping through the pages. quickly, as much as she could remember, she wrote her current scenario.

'A man helped bandage my ankle and stop my nosebleed.' she read through the rest that she had wrote.

" i-i was... i was trying to get on a path to the east-coast, i believe... " she scratched her head. " and i got caught r-running away from that horde... where did it go..? "

" you don't remember? " the man raised an eyebrow. " i just saved you from it. what's your deal? "

" a-ahh... " she quickly scribbled in her notebook that the man saved her. " i-i'm sorry sir, i have a memory issue... "

" lovely. " the man rolled his eyes and shook his head. " i can already tell dealing with you is going to be irritating. "

ryouko pouted. something about this felt familiar to her. and she wasn't sure why. did she write this down..? has she met this man before?

" well, i obviously can't leave you here cause you'll get your dumbass killed. " the man slid his hands underneath ryouko, pulling her up into his arms princess style. she squeaked, sliding her pen into the spirals of her notebook and clutching it close. " upsy daisy. "

" w-wha-? " ryouko looked around confused.

" keep your head tilted back, i'm taking you someplace safer for the time being. unless you've got business here, just stay quiet while we're leaving. "

" w-well... where are we g-going..? "

" i made a hut away from the city for me to live. it's safer than finding an abandoned house or apartment without finding one of those bastards in the bathroom. can't even shit in peace in this world. "

ryouko's face flushed from that comment. a little much information for her, but it couldn't be taken back now.

" by the way, " the man kept talking. " don't get comfortable. i'm only making sure you don't get yourself killed. when you can walk on your own, you can leave. i don't really care what happens to you away from me after that point. "

really, she would've been hurt by something like that, but it didn't seem to matter. of course she was gonna have hurt feelings. why would he have a reason to trust her? she flipped open her notebook, scribbling in the events that had just happened. while he didn't seem interested before, he did take notice now of how much writing she was doing in that notebook.

" what's that for, if ya don't mind me asking? "

ryouko lifted her head again, gripping onto the rag tighter, even though the blood seemed to have stopped flowing now. " this is my memory notebook. i-i have a memory condition, so this notebook helps me remember things... that's the only thing i've ever been able to clearly remember. " _other than..._

" it's that bad? " he raised an eyebrow, really seeming shocked. " great. you're definitely gonna die out there, aren't you... " he shook his head, pulling one hand back to pinch the bridge of his nose, slightly messing up the fabric of his gloves against it. he shook his hand out before he put it back under her to make sure he didn't drop her. " alright, maybe you have to stick around longer. but i wanna make one thing clear; we do not have anything. we're only allies because there's a 70% chance if i leave you alone for 10 seconds, you're going to stick your hand in the mouth of one of those bastards, and i'm gonna have to bash your head in. and the same goes for me. "

ryouko couldn't believe she was writing that information down, but she had to, or else... she shook her head, trying not to let her fear show. " c-can... can i at least know your name? m-mine is ryouko, by the way... t-that's what my notebook has been telling me. "

the man took a deep breath. " the fact that your notebook has to tell you your name is the most concerning part... i don't feel comfortable giving you my name, but for now, you can just call me saihara. "

" saihara... " she wrote the name in her notebook, and circled it, pointing a few arrows from the bubble to spots that referred to him just as 'him' or 'the man who saved me,' or 'the man.' " o-okay, i got it! "

" good. now stay quiet while we're walking, please? i don't want to have any issues. " saihara looked at her with a slightly sickening smile.

she tried to return a sweet smile of her own, ignoring the sweat sheen on her forehead. " y-yes sir. "

in silence, he began to move, and ryouko clung to him unknowingly. really, she wanted to sleep, but she didn't want to concern him. she would just wait for the right moment...


End file.
